Hand-held striking tools are principally designed to deliver a blow to an object. Such tools are designed to drive nails, in the case of hammers, or chop and split wood in the cases of hatchets and axes. There are specialty impact tools, such as roofing striking tools, which have the physical characteristics of both a conventional striking tool and a conventional hatchet. There are also other specialty striking tools that are designed to perform specific functions, typically, when applied to the building trades.
The striking tools of the prior art share several common features. Typically, such prior art devices do not significantly insulate a user from the vibrations that result when the head of the hand-held impact tool strikes a surface. Also, the weight centerline of the head is approximately at the centerline of the shank of the prior art striking tool, such that the striking tool will balance vertically when held in a hand.
One prior art device employed a steel head forged separately of a solid steel handle in an attempt to provide a striking tool having good shock absorbing characteristics and a reduced manufacturing cost. Another prior art device employed a spring shank disposed between a striking tool's handle and head in an attempt to absorb the shock that occurred with use. Yet another prior art device employed beams, which were parallel to a core about which a handle was formed, the beams residing in over-sized holes to purportedly function as shock absorbers.
Also, the spatial relationship of the head to the handle of hand-held impact tools has remained virtually unchanged for decades. While the prior art has attempted to address vibration reduction, the prior art has generally not addressed the energy required to yield such devices. The prior art has similarly not addressed ways to manage overstrike. Overstrike occurs when, for example, the striking surface of a striking tool misses a nail and the handle strikes the wood or other surface. Thus, the shape of hand-held impact tools has remained, for the most part, unchanged.
The shank, or upper portion of the handle, is characteristically straight in most striking tools of the prior art. As discussed above, many striking tools of the prior art are weight-balanced when held vertically in a human hand such that the striking tools do not tip under their own weight. Thus, even in cases where the handle or shank of a prior art striking tool is not completely straight, such as where the handle is bent or disposed at an angle, the tool will be weight-balanced.
It would therefore be an advantage to have a hand-held striking tool that significantly reduces the effect of vibrations arising during use. It would be a further advantage to have a hand-held striking tool that better utilizes a user's energy. It would be yet another advantage to have a hand-held striking tool that manages the effect of overstrike.